It has been said that Lorne Burden was born with a vinyl record in one hand and a laptop in other. Although this might be a stretch of the truth, it’s not far from it. Lorne (Munchman or Munch to his people) spent much of his early years messing about in big brothers’ world of music.

In 1989, Lawrence, Lenny and Lynell Burden began the their musical journey as the recording group Octave One, with 5 year old Lorne tagging along for the ride. Watching his Techno siblings bang on keyboards, drum machines, turntables and computer keys during his formidable years (sneaking in a bang or two himself), has made him a child of the sound. In 1996 at the age of 12, Lorne and his then 15 year old bro’ Lance (that’s right there are five of them) spent the day at Lenny’s apartment. During their brief stay, the ’terrible two’ decided they could improve on a track the older Burdens were working on, (without their knowledge of course). The boys’ musical ability impressed their big bros’, so much so, they kept their work on the Random Noise Generation’s Last Campaign track. Now Munch was more than a passenger on the journey.

In 1999 he entered into the Mass Media program at the Detroit Public Schools’ Golightly Center. The same year, he became a fixture on the school systems radio station WDTR. Now he was DJing, on the radio no less. Lorne also took his turntable skills to the basements, backyards, a teen dance parties throughout Detroit, bringing with him his unique urban mix of Hip Hop, R&B, Techno, and Electro. In 2000, Munchman teamed up with Aux 88’s DJ Di’jital to form the turntable experience they called the Direct Beat Assassins. The DB Assassins kicked it into full gear, bringing the pure Booty and Electro vibe to the Detroit party scene. Catching the ear of Carl Craig, he made the Assassins part of the inaugural Detroit Electronic Music Festival. Not to miss out on his talents, Lawrence, Lynell and Lenny gave the young Lorne the honor of playing live with them as Octave One during 430 West 10th Anniversary Party (celebrating 10 years of the existence of their own record label). Impressed by the vibe they had as a live unit, Lynell pushed him into the position he had left vacate in the group years earlier, making him the new third member of Octave One.